Comments on: Microsoft’s new design philosophy

By: kiran

kiran — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 18:00:43 +0000

There is no end for Microsoft……No one can beat their technology as well as designes.

By: Jonathan

Jonathan — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 06:45:40 +0000

@Ephram Zerb:

Each seperate product, or group, has unique branding that is a departure from the core MSFT brand.

I noticed that too. It is something that seems to go beyond the design of a product range and is evident in the way product teams are structured, and in the language used to describe them. On the Popfly website the product team describe themselves as if they were a tiny startup rather than a division of the world’s largest software company:

Like most startup ventures, the team hustles for resources every day and is innovative, scrappy, and fun.

As a side note: the If-Microsoft-Designed-the-iPod-Packaging video was put together by a Microsoft group to prompt internal change.

Ha! I hadn’t realized that. Thanks for the heads up. I assumed the video was made by an Apple fan taking a potshot at Microsoft.

By: Ephram Zerb

Ephram Zerb — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 05:27:24 +0000

Microsoft has done a great job of re-aligning themselves and investing resources in user experience. The quote from MSFT’s design site is a truism for just about every modern company and I have a feeling that MSFT fully believes in that message (ignoring the nebelulous “Microsoft is creating a new paradigm for creating compelling digital experiences” part).

Your cited examples show a rather interesting approach to branding. Each seperate product, or group, has unique branding that is a departure from the core MSFT brand. This fragmentation and uniqueness opts for a stronger emotional connection with a small audience segments rather than a unified approach, targetted to all, that fails to stir a single soul.

Allowing such autonomy on a per-group level is pretty interesting. I’d imagine such splintering is necessary when you have to steer a 75,000 person ship and want more agility in your workforce.

What they are doing runs opposed to the traditional model of branding and design, where unity and cohesion are favored accross all product lines (think Apple). Even though I prefer the traditional approach, I’ve certainly been more receptive towards Microsoft’s design efforts as they slowly build their inertia on the design front.

As a side note: the If-Microsoft-Designed-the-iPod-Packaging video was put together by a Microsoft group to prompt internal change.

By: Jermayn Parker

Jermayn Parker — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 13:47:41 +0000

I was only actually joking with my comments about the designers swapping boats

By: Jonathan

Jonathan — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 05:43:51 +0000

@Jermayn

I am guessing that the designers for Mac must have moved over to PC

They wear their influences on their sleeve, don’t they!

I’m not sure how many people realize it, but Icon Factory who did the icons for Windows XP and Windows Vista also create icons for Apple. So it really is the case that some of the same designers work for both companies!

By: Jermayn Parker

Jermayn Parker — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 05:28:08 +0000

Wow some of those designs look very classy and web 2.0 and even a little mac-ish

I am guessing that the designers for Mac must have moved over to PC